Ikutaro Kakehashi and the Rise of the Rhythm Composer
Destination: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. Roland Corporation Headquarters, 1977 We might not realize it, but the Roland company we know now is entirely different than the one it was shaping up to be in its early days. When Ikutaro Kakehashi, founder of Roland, started his first venture into musical instruments, it was indebted to his love for time. […]
tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”
tUnE-yArDs have been gathering more and more steam with each album they release. For the uninitiated, the song “Bizness” from their 2011 release Whokill is a great snippet of their unique sound. A duo made up of Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner, tUnE-yArDs create their music by layering loops of percussion, ukulele, horns and vocals on top […]
Interview with Chris Wyse
Chris Wyse just doesn’t have time to slow down. Calling in to talk with me last week, he had just returned home to New York after completing one stretch of a tour with Ace Frehley, and couldn’t take more than one day off before starting up rehearsals with his own band, Owl. It’s a pace Wyse may not […]
New Gear Report: Dave Smith Instruments Tetra and Novation Launchpad Pro
— Dave Smith Tetra Desktop Synthesizer Dave Smith Instruments jokes that the Tetra is a sort of “mini Prophet.” Years ago, most people would say the idea of a device at this price coming close to recreating the Prophet’s unique polyphonic sound would be out of the question. The Mopho teased the idea of recreating the […]
Gibson’s Kalamazoo Gals
The “Kalamazoo Gals” in front of the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, MI circa 1944. Photo Credit: Guitarkadia.com. Gibson’s 2016 line of acoustic guitars features plenty of updates — some are designed to suit the modern player, as in the Progressive series. Others are made for history buffs, like the thermally aged tops on the Vintage series. One “update” […]
Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment – Surf
The backing band of a gifted lyricist and songwriter takes the spotlight to craft a work under their own name, with a slew of big-name guest stars joining in. Have we heard this before? In the case of Surf, an ambitious release by Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment, the answer is no. Unlike the reference above, this is no […]
Mark Holcomb Interview
We recently got the chance to sit down with Periphery guitarist Mark Holcomb before a show at Chicago’s House of Blues. Mark gave background on his history with Periphery, shed the details on his signature PRS guitar — which boasts several subtle but seriously unique features — and even offered some advice for up-and coming bands. Check it […]
Get the Tone: Post-Rock
Employing electric guitars to build minimalist, single-note movements into towering walls of sound, post-rock musicians are no strangers to using their instruments and effects as a focal point in a genre often devoid of vocals. Pioneered by bands such as Tortoise and Slint, post-rock has been thrust into the mainstream in recent years by acts […]
